Time to head home
Tuesday was our last day at the monastery and we decided to hit one last mass, which was cool since the Bishop and Abbott were running the show. I find it interesting that to this day, this highly efficient monastery of women cannot run their own mass, but that is neither here nor there. After mass it was time to take down the display and load it up in the car. First thing that happened was the socket wrench broke so I needed to make a run to Lowe’s. Once I got back it was go time. I am immediately sweating buckets and working my toosh off and there were various older nuns watching us, which means I gotta keep smiling and no swearing, such a test of strength. We did it, and we carted these tables across the monastery to the car in many trips.
We were on the road by about 3pm, I was in a flop sweat (per usual) and just trying to cool off but we were happy to be done and sad to be leaving. We decided to just head to Nashville for the night to go and party a bit. We got to town about 6pm and checked into the hotel, showered and hit the strip. It was a blast and we saw a bunch of music, drank a bunch of drinks and let off some steam. Next morning we made time to go check out the NEW Hatch Show Print (where I interned in 2008) and also visited my friend Jim Sheraden.
Getting to know the Benedictine Sisters
The things that really struck me spending time at the Sacred Heart Monastery was the sincerity of all the women that we met. Each of the conversations that I had with the Sisters was about their genuine appreciation for The Scroll and the fact that we brought it to Alabama. They were touched by the images I created in the work, they loved the image of the Singing Nuns, several mentioned how they could see themselves in that, also the Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica, they LOVED their faces, which is one of my favorite images. They asked me what was my favorite passage, I like the way that Saint Benedict talked about work, listening carefully, walking in humility and the importance of hospitality, they live it well and were so kind and generous with their hospitality.
The conversations I had with these women were so memorable, one showed me the art she makes, another told me about her love of photographing old barns. The best part was Monday night after dinner was a “social” in the retreat center. I was so surprised when Sister Lynn said that there would be alcoholic beverages, I mean, I am a grown woman and I was giddy being able to drink with my new friends! I saw Sister Lynn get a double Knob Creek on the rocks! Dang Sister Lynn! How can you be this cool? We had great talks, took selfies and laughed about all sorta of stuff. It was a blast and the 8:00pm cutoff came way too early!
When in Rome…
It was Monday and Labor Day and Rachael and I wanted to check out Birmingham, which was only about 45 minutes away. We did some research and the only thing we could do on a holiday was check out the walking tours, we downloaded the app and hit the road. Pulling into a major city and feeling like the only car on the road was sorta eerie. We arrived at the 16th Street Baptist Church to start the tour, put in our ear buds and the voice started telling the story of the church, of the 4 little girls that died there when some Ku Klux Klan monsters bombed it. The weight of the tour was palpable, but I believe that learning about it and feeling it is important. The heat was also intense, but we walked for about 90 minutes and walked the streets alone.
After the walk Rachael posted on Facebook asking for recommendations as to where to go and a few people said that we should eat at Dreamland BBQ, so thats where we went! You could smell the place long before you could see it. We walked up and there were people waiting in lines inside and out but we were committed. We put our names in and about 15 minutes later we were at a table. We shared an amazing pork sandwich some fried green tomatoes and ended with banana pudding. It was outstanding!!!! The cold beer was the cherry on top, I am glad we shared everything since I felt like I needed a nap after that.
Success in the Monastery!
So Sunday night was the official start of the CIB Conference of delegates and I was going to be the first to present after the opening remarks! I had written it out and practiced a few times, I wanted to keep it short since I knew most of these folks were going to be tired from their travel. We had practiced everything that afternoon so I felt good, but still nervous. Sister Lynn had requested that I speak slow and not to use slang or colloquialisms,( um… that is pretty much my whole schitck!) since there would be interpreters trying to translate to many different groups from Germany, France, Italy, and Korea!
Rachael and I got there and we were walked into the room that had about 40 nuns seated and there were a handful on zoom too. I started getting a little nervous but Sister Lynn introduced me and it was so incredibly sweet. I also met Sister Nancy who had drove up from Minnesota too (S. Benedict) and had told me that she knew my dad and had a cool story to tell! I LOVE THAT STUFF!
The talk went great and I was so proud but I had no idea of the reach until at random times at the monastery, a Sister would sit next to me and share how the scroll had affected her, that started to hit me. A Sister would walk up to me and tell me how the imagery and the words had struck a cord. That was when I realized that this was way bigger than I had thought, this was bigger than just a piece of art, this scroll was going to continue to connect me to people all over the world. There were Sisters from Korea, Philippines, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa and they were all touched by the scroll. The best part was when the Sisters from Italy stood up after the talk and said we want you to come to our Monastery in Assisi, now THAT is what I’m talking about!!!!
Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama.
So I picked up the display from the Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking, it was breath taking. They only finished a day before I was leaving so I did not spend much time with the guys that built it. I didn’t have time. I took notes and they helped me pack it into the back of the Subaru, they back extra tools and bolts, I texted myself all the things that they said. I went with Father Lew to the engraving room and we engraved “THE RULE OF SAINT BENEDICT” as well as the Woodworking logo. I was so excited for it!
I went back to the shop and finished packing, making sure the scroll was in there, would be just like me to forget the main attraction. Got everything together and made my way to St. Paul to pick up Rachael Jost, my wingman. We headed out about 10am on Friday and were making great time!
We got used to not seeing out the rear window and used our trusty atlas to work on memorizing the state capitals and mapping out the best route. We decided to grab dinner in St. Louis, we found Little Italy on The Hill and dined at a really post old school Italian place called Charlie Giottos, good wine and amazing pasta. We made our way to Mount Vernon, Illinois which we figured would be about 10 hours in to our 15 hours drive, then we could have an easy drive day on Saturday.
Pulling into the Monastery was nice, I knew it was going to be hard labor bringing in all 9 4X6 tables and setting it all up . The Sisters were so kind and so happy that we were there. Setting up was BRUTAL! We got 90% of the way and realized that the scroll was facing the wrong direction so we had to undo the tables and basically start over. It was brutal, but finally after almost 4 hours, it was all set up and looked incredible in that space.
Next morning we decided to join to the Sisters for mass, I have not been to mass in many many years but I like a good church. Rachael and I got there and found our seats, right behind us was a very vocal southern woman who was hilarious. I forgot how much standing and sitting there is at a catholic mass. It was nice, then we all went down for breakfast, there are Sisters here from Korea, the Phillipines, Australia, Italy, France, GReat Britain, and beyond. They were all every excited to meet us.
I am doing a talk later this evening and we got all of our video and PowerPoint stuff all checked out and then we took off for a nap. So far, Alabama is cool, well it’s really hot but it is lovely.
Im Back and headed ON TOUR!
After a year of the scroll sitting in the printshop waiting for me to spill coffee on it, it is time for me to get this epic piece of art out in and in front of people! It has taken a LOT of work and I still don’t know if I have all my ducks in a row, but its happening either way. Back in March I had a Private Print Party with a group of Sisters from Saint Benedicts. We had so much fun and I shared with them that I really want the scroll to be seen, it never got the fanfare it deserved and I was looking for ideas on how to find some Benedictines that would be into showing the work. They put me in touch with Sister Lynn from out in Cullman, Alabama. We talked for weeks trying to figure out how this could all work.
First things first, I needed some funding to get the wheels turning. If you know me at all then you know I HATE asking for money, but this was important and I found the people that we excited about it. Between the President of the College of Saint Benedict and a grant found by Sister Lynn I had the money. I needed to get a traveling display made so I went and talked to Ryan Kutter over at the Woodworking Studio at Saint Johns University, he and local woodworker Hunter Grosse, created a design that would be beautiful and still fit in the back of a Subaru Outback.
I wanted to have things that people could take away from the shows as well, created some cards that I had digitally printed as well as a book entitled: Bruno Press: The Making of the Scroll. All of these things as coming together as well as a landing page for people to visit if they want to host the tour. I have also created a beautiful powerpoint that I will deliver at each stop as well.
As of right now there are only the two stops, I was nervous to get the word out there without having an idea of how to do this, but now I am ready to hit the road with my bestie Rachael who will try to keep me from falling alseep on the 16 hour drive to Cullman. Right now I am excited and curious for this circus to get on the road and how I might share this work with people all across the nation and maybe the world!!!
Exhibiting New Major Work!
Whether you got to go see the exhibition out at Saint John’s University this October or not, I got to exhibit my Prophetic Messenger pages in the most beautiful frames that truly did them justice. I was able to do this after receiving a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board that covered all of that! The thing about doing print work is its not completely done until it is framed and up on a wall, and often times that can cost as much as the artwork. I am so grateful to CMAB for giving me the opportunity to really tie this project up in such a beautiful way. The framing I got done at Golden Eye Framing, which is the best of the best in town. Beth knows framing and does wonderful work. This exhibition was up in the Alucin Library from October 13- November 17 and then this moved to The Whit Gallery in downtown St. Cloud where it was a Retrospective Show of work I have been doing over the last three years. It was amazing to have a whole gallery space to fill!
MBFDS #1
HELLO!
Hello friends and supporters of Bruno Press! Welcome to 2021, where things look the same but feel different. We made it through the holidays unscathed and looking back through it all, 2020 was a good year for Bruno Press.
Did you know that my poster was on the cover of a magazine? For reals?
Msp. St. Paul Magazine contacted me back in late November asking about a lil poster series I had started called Words from the Revolution with a few badass ladies from down in the metro. Long story short, I collaborated with my friend Dara Beevas on the project and she suggested a great quote from a local social activist and leader in the metro named Dr. Joi Lewis. I printed an edition of about 100 posters and made a gorgeous video about it with Rubinski Visual. Mpls St Paul Mag worked tirelessly to make the cover look and feel as letterpress-y as possible. Over 70K copies went out to subscribers and newsstands in late December, early January. SUCH a thrill, I have a bunch of copies, prolly gunna give 'em as Xmas presents, lemme know if you want one. Check out the wonderful lil piece my friend Jayne Haugen Olson wrote about me!
Did you also know?
The origin of the phrase "Mind your Ps and Qs" was advice printers gave to their apprentices so they didn't mix up their backwards-facing lowercase ps and qs while constructing their type.
Inspiration
I don’t know about you, but I watched the Amanda Gorman “Hills We Climb” poem and boy, that was inspirational. Not only is she 22 years old, but a Poet Laureate, a stunning speaker, and adept at helping to chisel away some of the negativity and defeat to uncover just enough hope and inspiration to convince this kid, that 2021 is going to be better.
Hot Off The Press
With that being said I decided to honor that very inspiration with a kickass poster! I laid this out to be a three color lino block carved poster with some hand set type as well. I kept the colors iconic to the day and carved the hell outta that block. The hands were killer! I am very proud of this limited edition run of posters! I decided to stay inline with the initiative I started with the Revolution series to donate a portion of the proceeds of this poster to the BIPOC community. I partnered with the Intercultural LEAD program over at the College of Saint Ben's & St. John's University. The iLEAD fellowship program is for high achieving, historically underrepresented, first generation college students! How cool! Gotta love doin' something local too! I am hoping that this becomes something I can shoot for doing several times a year.
My People
My friend Rachel is a very thoughtful person, is married with 2 small children and teaches at the College of Saint Benedict. She has taken the time to travel to Palisade, MN with a handful of letterpress printed protest posters -STOP LINE 3- (that her and her daughters MADE) and her 2 kids: Elsa (6) and Sarah (4) in tow to protest the Line 3 pipeline. Amidst all the things that occupy the time of a mother & professor, this became a priority and is teaching that to her kids. It is fun to watch a cool person raising cool kids. I know them to be cool because they are the BIGGEST fans of Quarantine Storytime, which I officially retired the end of January. We had a good run and all episodes are on my YouTube channel.
Printer Love
I follow printers and artists from all over the world, one of my favorites is Rick Allen of The Kenspeckle Letterpress up in Duluth, Minnesota. He is a VERY talented lino engraver and is a constant source of inspiration to me. Check his stuff out here.
Shop Updates
Got a bunch of things that are coming down the line in the shop this month. I have been commissioned to make posters for Art in Motion in Holdingford, what a cool place, have you seen it yet?
Work on the 2022 calendar has officially begun as well! It was such a bummer to have skipped a year but too much shit was going on last year at this time and it is my 10th Anniversary so I want it to be REALLY special! The theme is “Written in the Stars” and I cannot wait for you to SEE! Stay tuned!
Hope you enjoy this NEW monthly stream of conciousness that I am sharing. I love to write and I want to keep in touch since I do not SEE many people these days. I promise to keep it fun, interesting and an actual Mental Break from Dumb Shit.
Thanks for supporting a real life creative.
McBruno
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 7)
Okay, so this is definitely the other side of this very, very complicated project and I don’t know as much about the Richard side of things. I know some, and I have images that tell enough of the story until we get the book that Richard is going to publish about this whole thing sometime in summer of 2021.
Meanwhile, while I was working with my team on the scroll, Richard and his team were throwing pots that would house the heirloom seeds that would be joining the scroll inside the Kura sculpture that he was building. Each pot had the prophetic messenger image drawn on the outside and then was sealed with a champagne cork. Richard is researching the heirloom seeds that are hundreds of years old and native to Minnesota. The seeds will be placed inside the clay pots and then protected with a combination of rice hulls and clay to insulate and protect the objects. The big giant tree like pots are the ones that the scrolls will be placed inside. Then that big pot will also descend into the Kura sculpture.
The KURA Sculpture!
Guy welding together the roof of the capsule. Here a welder is assembling the roof which will be installed to hermetically seal the sculpture with all the pots safely inside for the next hundred million years. So many details I really cannot speak to so I will just post images that can start to paint the picture.
The final stage was Tuesday, August 11th, where the lid to the Kura was lifted on top and the whole deal was sealed for eternity. Freakin amazing. The level at which all cylinders had to be firing and it all came to fruition. Being a cog in this wheel has given me a sense of purpose that I have not felt in a long while. I am grateful, I am honored, I am better at my craft, I am a more comprehensive creator, and damn, I’m happy.
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 6)
July 2020
Hand coloring the scroll!
I decided early on that I was going to hand color the scrolls and not try to print and register multiple blocks, too risky. Plus this would give each a uniqueness and I would have way more control over the subtleties. I found these awesome, albeit expensive, water color pencils at Wet Paint. They were said to have museum quality an archival longevity. Who knows. I liked them a lot. Painting was fun and I got better as I went. Gold leaf? Yah, it’s cool as hell, but it is sort of a nightmare. You LIT-rally have to cease to breathe. So totally worth it though.
Now it was time to start to assemble these things. We had the adhesive tape and Jeff was kind enough to make us this really cool jig type deal that was going to help us keep everything STRAIGHT as an arrow. The paper has to be so right or every time you roll and unroll it, it is going to move around and bear up the paper. Mean while Jeff had started to deliver the scrolls as well. They were beautiful, so much so that I wanted him to stagger the delivery so that perfect cherry scrolls were not just laying around my inky shot! It worked out well. It was a challenge but Madeline and Lucian had perfected the gluing and rolling of the pagesby the time they got to the second scroll. So 34 pages for each scroll, it was a lot of time and I had to continue to tell them to slow down. They nailed it.
I have been working non stop, straight, ask any of my friends… “dude, I can’t, not until this scroll is done.” Well dang, I think we are here. Can this be? I did it? Every time I look at it I am floored at the power that compels me to do what I do.
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 5)
JUNE 2020
The imagery!
During all this decision making, we reached out to multiple people for resources. We zoom chatted with Jeanne Coffell a professor at the CSB, we reached out to Peggy Roske, who is in charge of the CSB archives, and Sister Margaret Woida, who is in charge of the monastic archives. We also talked to Kate Ritger, who was Production Manager for the Common Ground Garden for more than seven years. We needed clear images we could illustrate from and make sure we had permission to use them. Richard recommended looking into fiber artist Sister Margaret Van Kempen, and for more images of the nuns in the artisan studios, making candles, singing or baking bread. We wanted the the scroll to be illustrated with the artisans of this community, the working lives of the nuns, and natural beauty of the central Minnesota region.
Finally it’s my time to REALLY step up and do my thing. Carve linoleum block images, carve like the wind, until my eyes bleed and my spine cracks. Thats the way it felt. We had done so much recon into considering what the 18 images were going to be. So much intentionality into every single freakin detail. There is truly nothing random about any of this work, every step required tons of decisions to be made and everything felt perfect.
In order to transfer the images onto the blocks we used a gel medium and acetone which made our tracing jon easy, we were then able to rub the paper off and have each detailed image perfectly transferred to the linoleum block.
After securing the images, our next task was writing each of the footnotes and setting the type for printing. Each footnote was size 10 times new Roman and gave each of our images context, and added more of an elegant and professional touch.
It was the most manic I have kicked out linoleum block carving ever in my life. It was weird though, it was exhilerating. This was the finest detailed carving I had ever done, the detail the consistancy, it was all there. It felt like I had been training for this for the last 15 years, this was my Boston Marathon and I had just PR’d in my age group. (Photos by Caleb Thompsen)
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 4)
April - May 2020
As we continued to brainstorm and stockpile images, we tested out the taping of the scroll in order to create a mockup. The wood craftsmen in charge of designing the beautiful wooden scroll is Jeff Thompson from St. Anna. Jeff worked alongside Richard and I to design the custom reclaimed redwood (from the Grainbelt Brewery) holders for each of the scrolls. The coolest thing about this project is that everything is being created by local Minnesota artists and artisans from start to finish. The test pages for the mockup were mostly newsprint, but were the exact dimensions and number of pages of the final scroll and gave us an idea of how to move forward.
It was amazing to see the reclaimed redwood scroll holders simplistic design that relies on the wood itself for the supporting joinery. It will hold our scroll and be suspended on stands to protect the paper. These holders will transform the printed piece into both a sculpture and a book. There will be six completed wooden assemblies for the project to hold six printed scrolls, one will be hermetically sealed in the sculpture, one for me, for Richard, for CSB/SJU archives, for the St. Benedict Monastery and the last is for the Sculpture Donor.
There were a few images that I knew needed to be part of this and the one that really felt so incredibly cool to include was the beautiful stylized cross designed by my father, Don Bruno, for the Benedicta Arts Center. The cross represented the four fine arts: Dance, Theatre, Music, and Visual, it also cleverly included the buildings initials: B A C. Amazing. Next we knew we wanted an image of the sun from artist Joe O’Connell. We spoke with Julianne, his youngest daughter, who gave us permission to use the image. Julianne (Duke) and I have always shared a bond of admiration for our talented and visionary fathers. Among other images we had completed a Sacred Heart illustration featuring which included a Lady Slipper that I had photographed out at Richards home a few weeks prior. I had also begun drafting my version of Richard’s Prophetic Messenger.
We paid another visit to Richard’s studio with our second scroll mockup to get feedback on our current illustrations. After finalizing some of our images, I wanted to show Richard our progress before I began carving the linoleum blocks.
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 3)
February - March 2020
In February, I took the interns to Richard’s studio for tea time out at The Saint John’s University Pottery Studio to get more insight into his Concept of the Prophetic Messenger, which is at the core of the Sculpture and project’s meaning.
To summarize my interpretation of Richard’s vision, the drawing is of a horse galloping towards an archway that has elements of Eastern, Western and Pagan symbols of the Cosmos. The idea is that the horse is a symbol of God’s divine knowledge and peace saving us from war and destruction. The horse never makes it through the arch, meaning we never receive his message because of our human imperfection. Richard has been using the Prophetic Messenger motif in his work throughout the entirety of his career. There are layers of symbolism to each component of the drawing.
Being asked to be a part of a project with this amount of thought and intention has been an honor and a highlight of my career. Richard shared with us the blueprints for the Kura Messenger Sculpture that the scroll and heirloom seeds are intended to be hermetically sealed in.
With Richards drawing from the pottery I was able to recreate my image using the Procreate app on my iPad. Drawing with the iPad is how I created all my illustrations for the project and it has been an absolute game changer. I
In March, the 30 10 x 19 inch polymer plates arrived from Boxcar Press in New York and we were ready to start printing on the Thai Mulberry paper.
As the text was printed, we started measuring the blank image spaces for each image page. We were then able to cut linoleum blocks and research images for the 18 spaces Judy created within the text.
In late March, my interns Ben, Scott, Madeline and I headed to the MIA just as quarantine began and everything was about to shut down. We got to do some research and see some more examples of scrolls, how they’re displayed and different woodblock prints from the Arts and Crafts period to traditional Japanese woodblock prints.
Throughout quarantine, I had all my interns continue to print and work remotely to research and create thumbnails for the 18 images.
Some examples of the image ideas we solidified for moving forward:
Different images of the nuns, working praying, gardening and creating
Common grounds garden photos-- a collaborative community garden with the monastery in Saint Joseph
Images of art created by St. Joseph artists and designers
General flora and fauna imagery pulling from the history and community in St. Joseph
Richard’s image of the Prophetic Messenger
Imagery of the Johanna kiln
An imagery of the printing of the scroll
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 2)
November 2019 -January 2020
Our first stop In November was meeting with Matthew Heintzelman, the curator of the Western and Rare Books Collection at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library. We wanted to get a gauge on what the project might end up looking like and draw inspiration from historic scrolls from all over the world. We asked to look at different manuscripts, texts, scrolls and expressed that we were making our own version of the Rule of Saint Benedict for a sculpture project directed by Richard Bresnahan. When we got there we went into a room filled with old copies of scrolls and beautifully printed religious manuscripts as well as printed versions of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Jackpot!!!
Richard made it clear that he wanted the scroll’s focus to illustrate St. Joseph and the Benedictine nuns in past and present day community, working together and doing stuff by hand!! Who better to seek out inspiration for the Benedictine Rule than those who live their life by it!
Our next stop was meeting with the nuns in order to focus on the text and get things from their perspective. We wanted to ask them what highlights and imagery of the Rule of Saint Benedict left the biggest impact on them. In the past, the Rule of Saint Benedict has always been in relation to the monks, but Richard wanted this project to showcase the perspective of the Benedictine nuns and women in general. We needed their input in order to figure out the layout and which parts were to be highlighted. The Rule of Saint Benedict is not short and we needed further interpretation.
After our meeting, we got a lovely follow up from the nuns:
“It has been delightful and satisfying working with you, Mary, and with Richard Bresnahan to select quotes from the Rule of Benedict for you to highlight in your text. Your lively interest in the Rule and its interpretation were just the stimulus we needed to become totally engaged. There is nothing quite like curious and attentive dialogue partners like you to stimulate the minds and hearts of lovers, students, teachers of the Rule like us. We also enjoyed the opportunity to look back over our history and tradition here in central Minnesota to help you think about images that would recall some of the significant ways our members and our work have contributed to the culture of this area”.——Sr. Michaela and Sr. Katherine
After meeting with the nuns, we contacted religious manuscript designer Judy Gilats out of Minneapolis who came highly recommended through Todd from Angel Bomb Press. Judy made room for images within the text for us, varying in size and scattered throughout. We trusted Judy to make these decisions as a professional manuscript designer and from there we began researching and saving a GIANT compilation and inspiration for images to respond to the text. The imagery was NOT going to be in response to the literal text, but instead to focus on the Benedictine Nuns and larger St. Joseph community. These images included Minnesota flora fauna and landscape, artisans, craftsmen, local artists, printers, potters and the Benedictine Nuns active in the Monastic community. After starting the image research and getting Judy to design the layout, It was time to make decisions about paper.
I made a trip to St. Paul in order to meet with printer Kent Aldrich to talk about paper. He accompanied me to Wet Paint where we sampled and discussed all kinds of paper options. We needed the paper to be strong, but still have a beautiful and delicate quality. Kent recommended a Kozoshi white paper, and Richard recommended a Japanese Mulberry. Kent’s suggestion was a bit too opaque and not delicate enough while Richard’s was too thin, nearly see through and almost like tissue paper. We found our perfect match with the white Thai Mulberry, a paper with enough substance but still very delicate. This paper that was juust right. Our next obstacle was figuring out how we were going to glue these sheets together.
We called upon an expert, which was none other than Scott Murphy, photography and book arts professor at the College of Saint Benedict’s. He recommended a book making tape called ATG tape normally used for picture framing. This tape was exceptionally cheaper and worked perfectly. It pays to know the right people in situations like these. So mush research goes into a project of this magnitude and that is what a lot of the first months was all about. Having the glue and paper, meant that we could actually start to get moving on something and the first order of business was to individually cut down all 350 sheets individually into 2 pages. This is certainly going to be a marathon and not a sprint.
Quarantine Storytime, THE END! 50 episodes of stories and love.
BACK in March with news of COVID-19 shutting down schools and non-essential businesses, I decided to reconnect with the former Pre-K teacher in me and start reading books everyday at lunch to kids and families stuck at home. I had to shut myself in my print shop (NO VISITORS ALLOWED) so I could channel my inner child, which is not that difficult. I am a giant toddler so it was like shootin’ fish in a barrel. With my trusty ukulele, silly voices, gum balls, and fuzzy Elmo head I was off to the races. Turns out that even though I set out with intentions of helping out quarantined families, that 30 min spot a day got me through my own crap as a solo quarantiner. I have been basically quarantining for years, I grow more and more introverted as the years zing by but I will be honest, my heart aches at having to walk away from this amazing little world I accidentally created.
So much uncertainty and scariness in the world and for half an hour a day it was safe, secure, and filled to the brim with love- and it was NOT just kids! Adults became glued to storytime too, I have a way of inserting my own commentary to ALL stories and it’s pretty good. Seeing friends tune in from Uruguay to Rome was bananas!
To hear kids quote me back to ME is a thrill I cannot explain.
After all is said and done I am humbled again by the love and hilarity that we all shared right smack dab in the middle of a pandemic. I am glad I had you guys to get me through and I will hold on to these memories forever. The old crappy gum ball machine, the telly, all my different accents, the coffee, BeeBooBee, the Ninjas and stuffed animals, the coloring contest, the songs, the silly stories, the butt books, the fart books, and the emojis, soooooo many emojis, the hats, “meow meow meow”, “What up dudes”, Cranktanks and Stinkerfaces, the NONSTOP hilarity and the tons of new wonderful friends. Thanks dudes. Love you all.
You can always go back and watch the reruns on my website HERE
Kura Prophetic Messenger (Part 1)
So, last year in late July, I got a call from my friend Richard Bresnahan about collaborating on a big new project. Now this sort of thing does not happen often and the sheer magnitude of the idea was immense. It scared me for a minute, scared in the way that you know you are going to do something but terrified in a motivating sorta way. I mean, this is Richard Bresnahan, the guy does not go around asking people to collaborate all willy nilly. This was intentional and important and I accepted the challenge.
Richard came out to the print shop with a packet of information: schematics, drawings, plans, pictures, you name it, he had been planning this out forever. It was intimidating but so exciting! The thought of working on ONE THING for the next 9 months was a dream come true. Giddy yup I said, we agreed on budget and we were off!
The explanation of this project has to happen in stages… but the gist is that I will be letterpress printing The Rule Of St. Benedict. Since we started in about September, it has been working with the text: studying it, working with some lovely Benedictine nuns: Sister Katherine Howard, OSB and Sister Michaela Hedican, OSB. I am going to be doing about 20+ linoleum images too so we had to layout the pages and text and then find the spots where the images could live. So much work, I enlisted the help of Judy Gilats, who has worked on religious books and publications for over 30 years! Then we had to shop around for paper, thanks to the paper people at Wet Paint we agreed on a lovely Thai Mulberry. Richard and I wanted to do the entire project in hand-set type but it just simply was not realistic for our timeline. We reached out to Boxcar Press in New York and they agreed to make the polymer plates for all the text so that we could begin printing. That is the very start of this and there will be more updates to come!
The Metro Citizen Police Academy
So I know that you do not know because if you did you would have told me a long time ago. There is this thing that has been going on for 16 years, right here in town, that is so incredibly cool and badass I cannot believe that I just found out about it about 3 months ago.
It is the Metro Citizens Police Academy and I just finished. I don’t even know where to begin. It is an 8 week program that is open to anyone that applies in their city and it is completely freakin free. I know you midwest folk loves you some free shit, so here it is!!!
Now I am a learner through and through, so when my pal Lori, whose husband is a Sauk Rapids police officer, told me to apply, I thought it was #fakenews. Well it was not my friends, and when I asked “but is it really cool? Like FOR REAL COOL?” she said: “Fuck yah it is, for real.”
Well that’s all I needed to hear, I went straight up to to the City of St. Joe and filled put my paperwork!
I have what I like to call a hero complex - I am obsessed with heroes (cops and military) and I too want to be a hero. I have always admired cops even when I have been getting in trouble (nothing too bad, minor consumptions back in the day and speeding tickets here and there). The opportunity to get an INSIDE look into their training and careers was beyond fascinating to me.
Broken down to 8 weeks they covered everything and each thing was more interesting then the previous. It was so comprehensive and yet I bet we barely made a dent. They didn’t waste any time either, we were shootin’ guns for a full hour, in week 2 at the Waite Park Police Station, which is something I truly enjoy, but my instructor was great and I got better as time went by. We learned about hand-cuffing and “douche burritos”, I of course would volunteer for everything so I could get the full experience.
Which brings me to the most intense thing I have ever experienced. The taser. Holy shit man, Lori and I talked about volunteering for this for days, my first mistake was to watch 100s of taser videos on Youtube the night before class and totally psyched myself out, not to mention that one of the cops said something about 1 in 100 people piss themselves, so I had that anxiety to contend with. I mean I am in a room with like 50 people and half of them are are handsome police officers, is this how I want to proceed with my life choices? Then I heard how long 5 seconds is when it comes to the light of 1000 suns coursing through your muscles and I think I decided I was out. THEN, Lori my best bro, just jumped up and said: “I’m in.” SHIT! Now I HAVE to do it, I cannot be the fraidy cat that wussed out. As I watched Lori lay on the ground and scream bloody murder for a solid 5 seconds, I was terrified. One of the cops behind me like “dude, you can’t let your pal do it alone!” , so I walk up and bordered on a panic attack as I nervously ask the guy if my hair will start on fire? Will my rings melt? What if I pee my pants? Then before I could ask 10 more ridiculous questions I was shot, perfectly in the back and ass. That guy placed those barbs for a proper dose of pain. Once it was done I stood up, I was in a flop sweat but I was JACKED, I felt like I had a new lease on life and I promised myself, if there was ever any doubt, that I would ALWAYS comply with the PO-PO. DAMN. I also remember that one of my favorite things that one of the elder gals said in week that followed our “taser twins” night, when one of the officers speaking asked if it was okay to swear she raised her hand and said: “boy those gals that got tased sure do swear!” She was not lying, if you thought you have heard a string of expletives come charging out of someones mouth you should have heard the two of us, I think some of those cops were blushing.
The following weeks were filled with the all the greatest things, driving squad cards around a track, talking on walkie-talkies, and watching K-9s sniff out drugs. My favorite of all of that was driving serpentines as fast as I possibly could but i would get frustrated because I was inevitably behind Chuck, an older gentlemen, who could barely see over the dash and was not very heavy on the gas.
The SWAT stuff, helicopter tour, the hummer, the drug task force, talking to the county attorney, every part of it was insightful and extensive. Another favorite part for me was when we got to walk though a simulation. We (the pretend officers) were called to a public place where a young troubled dude had a knife… I was all convinced that I would take care o business with this bad guy, as I was partnered up with an elderly gal named Harriet, I felt as though I would protect and take care of her. We lemme tell you, I got school by my elder Harriet, I only had to tase the guy as he lunged at us, and I missed. Well, Ms. Harriet took that mofo out, hard core, and I was benched. Humbling to say the least.
I think the main point of all of this is that these officers took the time to educate us Jonny Q Public as to what this job really entails. When we were in the squad cars and had to drive with the lights and sirens going, while talking on the radios and reciting something like pizza toppings. It was hard, and we laughed, but it was nothing compared to what our police force needs to juggle on any given day. Mad respect, seriously. I think that it is incredible what we want the police to be for us and still we hold them to an unattainable standard. There is always more to the story, there are more good than bad people, and these folks put themselves at risk on a daily basis. I say THANK YOU, for sharing what you do, for being kind and inviting to a group of people that will stop thinking that what we see on TV is real. I hope to send a few more citizens your way and to never be tased again.
Damn, I'm so grateful.
It would seem that when a person just keeps on grindin’ it out day after day, putting in the work, people start to notice. It’s cool because the folks over at the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict have let me in a bit. Sometimes I feel like the cheese that stands alone in these parts, not like a winey cry baby cheese that stands alone but like a sharp cheddar that sort does not belong. It is nice to belong, and sometimes, now and again, I get that sense.
I have been given the opportunity to print broadsides every once in a while for visiting writers and poets that are brought to CSB/SJU. It is a thrill to get to design and print for someone using only their words. It gives me creative freedom but also gives me a glimpse into fascinating people. This broadside project was in collaboration with Chris Abani, who has been through some serious shit and come out smelling like roses. I did a little recon about the guy before I began the project, ya know, the usual… google, wikipedia, the Facebook. I listened to his Ted Talks and was super stoked that I would get to meet him.
“Chris Abani's first novel, published when he was 16, was Masters of the Board, a political thriller about a foiled Nigerian coup. The story was convincing enough that the Nigerian government threw him in jail for inciting a coincidentally timed real-life coup. Imprisoned and tortured twice more, he channeled the experience into searing poetry.” (from the Ted.com page)
More about Chris on his website: https://www.chrisabani.com/
10” X !3” four color reduction linoleum block print with hand set lead type.
With creative control, which is my favorite way to begin, I thought about Chris’s words about beauty and wanted to mirror that back. I found many wonderful african inspired patterns and colors and decided to do what I do best, a reduction block print. With the help of my awesome interns, we hand set all of the type and printed the text. I then went back to the 100 prints with my reduction process and with each passing color I fell deeper in love with the print.
Honestly, completing a project like this brings me such a sense of accomplishment but the real honest to goodness best part is the casual dinner party we plan when the visiting writer/poet get to town. I host at the print shop so that folks can see where the magic happens. I made my signature kickass chili while Matt, Rachel and Rachel brought dessert and wine. The only way I know how to begin to get to know someone is to cut to the chase: “Tell us some stories” I said to him and he did. He was warm and funny, super easy to talk to, he did not shy away from any of our questions. He even swore, not like a crazy person, but with the proper amounts of swears, which tends to endear me to people.
Chris loved the print and I got to explain the process to him, I could tell he was impressed. We continued to talk, laugh and share stories until it got really late. I went off on several tangents, including the recent story of me getting tased at my “cop school” and as we left we were all hugs and love.
I’m tellin’ ya, at the end of the night this cheese was not alone and felt like the world has plans and paths that reach all the way to little ol’ St. Joseph, Minnesota.
My Biggest Big Bro. (Sixto Baby Sixto)
Day 8 Monday February 4 PM
We landed in Bahia Blanca at about 6PM, it was a tiny airport and when we walked out into the lobby there stood Walter with Marina, a lovely friend of his that often translates for him. Big, giant hugs were shared as we walked out to the parking lot singing and laughing, Walter was so excited to see his old friend Amos and his new little sis - ME!
We all piled into the van and made our way to Walter’s mothers home where we would be staying. They told us of a German fellow, a printer, who had come to town to see Watler’s place all the way from Germany! We dropped off our stuff and headed to the Sixto Laspiur Futbol Clubhouse that Walter Io Uranga runs as well as resides with hid lovely wife Sylvanna and daughter Juliette (Hoo-Li), and surprisingly it is aldo where his printshop is located. There is so much happening in this space. Did I mention he has 13 dogs, and loves cervaza? Have I died and gone to heaven? Perhaps.
We looked at presses, oogled at his type collection, and watched as he pridefully pulled out poster after poster of every kind that he had done. Walter has been in the printing industry for most of his life and is damn good at what he does. At a moments notice we were notified that a TV crew was coming to interview the whole gang! We stood there as they set up, we were pretty much completely in the dark about what was happening most of the time, but just went with it. In the meantime, we met Willi The German, he was an interesting guy and had already become a part of “The Sixtos”. We all stood in front of the camera and answered a few questions as they translated. This was all over as quickly as it started. The whole time, more and more people were showing up at the shop. This place was more of Grand Central Station than even my shop can be. Kim and I were getting used to the greeting of the south which is to “air kiss” on the cheek every single person that comes into your presence. At first it was weird, for both of us, Kim would do this “head cupping” thing that I thought was hysterical and I was overshooting and kissing people in the ear. We eventually got it worked out and decided that it was the most beautiful way to start an interaction with a stranger. Seems that people from the States, myself included, have a fairly big space bubble and I get that, but sharing a mini intimate moment with every person you encounter is just so very simpatico.
The grill master, Adrian, was working the giant wood fired grill (which everyone here in Argentina and Uruguay has and uses daily) and there was so much freakin meat. There was a ton of beautiful fish to eat for those few vegetarians among us. Out on the futbol (soccer) field was a huge table with 30 place settings. It was a feast served family style and we were the guests of honor. Everyone was a character, there was Marcelo - apparently the greatest drummer ever in these parts, that may be true but what I liked about him right off the bat was his hat. It read: “My mom says I’m special so, fuck you!”. Then there was Alejandro, a blues singer and all around blues savant, his brain was a library of all facts, names, dates, and songs having anything to do with the Blues. I like him because he would start singing a song as he walked towards me, I would join in and then we would have the whole gang singing! There was Gustavo, who at dinner, right after Walter gave this long sappy toast about how happy he was to be surrounded by his friends, raised a toast and said: “chinga tu madre!” (Google it) now that is some funny shit. Then there was Silvio Sinatra, a smooth and sweet fellow that just took care of everyone, he brought many bottles of vino, beautiful empanadas, all the while making sure everyone had full glasses and smiles on their faces.
There was so much beer and conversation with and without translators, and as it turns out, you can mostly get to to root of what people are trying to say with a smidge of patience a lot of gesturing (and google translate). It was a helluva party, there was singing, chanting, hugging, laughing, sharing and drinking. I truly felt that these were the warmest, most kind people I have ever spent time with, they were instant family.
Day 9 Tuesday February 5
We slept well at the small house that Walter grew up in, it seemed that we had finally acclimated to the heat. I have also become hugely accustomed to the Mate but I miss my coffee con leche, and I was jones’n hard. We walked over to The Sixto (about a 8 block walk) and were immediately greeted with besos (kisses) and hugs. Sylvanna asked if we wanted coffee and I wanted to weep, yes mi amiga, yes indeed.
We hashed out a plan that we were going to print posters for a friend of Walters that we had met the night before at the party. This friend was a young man named Lisandro, who was a circus kind of guy that was trying to promote an upcoming show. Perfecto. Amos and Walter worked on the top half of the poster while Kim and I again, teamed up to take the bottom portion. All we had was a small piece of paper with the text and the rest was easy peasy-lemon squeezy. Once ready, Walter ran the press as Kim and I put the posters in the drying racks, the posters were good… like really good.
It was so cool to work along side Walter, that big lug, he laughs, jokes, and sings non stop. He made up songs about Willi The German, a song called Mary Bruno, and got Kim and I hooked on “Sixto Baby Sixto”. It never got old. We talked about all 80s rock, he is a maniac for all things metal and was proud of the shows they used to host at the clubhouse before it got taken over by more and more presses. I knew about 99% of every band he referenced thanks to an 80s upbringing with a metal head older brother. We would start singing Quiet Riot, then Ozzy, jump to Iron Maiden and I hardly ever stopped laughing even for a minute.
The Ninos came around late afternoon to have practice at the club and we got to meet them and chat a bit, so freakin cute, every one of them. It is cool how Walter is so proud of the Sixto Club and invests so much time and love into these kids. That night was a sweet lil concert outside with Alejandro, Juan, and Marcelo, it was magical- the whole time Lisandro was being puppet master for the cutest little dancing skeleton followed by glowing juggling. Way to much beer but just the right amount of everything else.
Got up Wednesday- headed to the Sixto, got there to find to our sweet Sylvanna had prepared her magical cafe con leche and some pastries. Walter needed to walk to the paper store so we all decided to walk along with. We leave the Sixto and a pack of the puppalitos (my made up word that is starting to stick!) came with, my favorite, Cherry, the injured one that was really shy and the big twins. It was interesting how the dogs just did their own thing, off leash and independent, it made me nervous as they would cross the road but Walter didn’t worry so why should I? Watching Walter walk down the street of the city was like me walking through town in St. Joe. He knew everyone, and he stopped to introduce us to all of his friends, some people I don’t think he even knew but still he would introduce to us. The best was when we stopped to BS with these 3 dudes and the one I was chatting with told me to take his scooter for a rip! It was hilarious and awesome. We stopped into a little grocer and talked to that guy too, even posed for a pic with us, everyone was so damn sweet.
The whole walk Walter was telling us stories and the history of Sixto Laspier, he is very proud. When we got back the sweet Sylvanna had prepared a giant feast of fish and salad, and more cervesa.
Our friend Marina met us later that afternoon for a quick trip to walk around the city! We went to a bar for a cappuccino and walked around in and out of shops to find a few gifts to bring home. After a perfectly lovely afternoon in the city we decided we needed to get back and pack so that we could have a good last night partying with Walter and company. Ernesto, the lone dog that lives at the house was our trusty companion as we unpacked and then packed again, we have acquired SO MUCH STUFF. More posters then I have wall space for but I need to keep, everyone, every step of the way is so generous with their work. Walter gave me a kickass little lead bender, it is heavy as a mofo but I will get it in my carry on as god as my witness. Got everything set and walked back to the Sixto for the last time. All the boys were there to play more music, Silvio and his son were there with a massive amount of empanadas that were to die for and there was beer and wine everywhere! We gathered outside and listened to them play and sing for hours. It had cooled down finally and the breeze was the perfect addition to the night.
We spent the last hours together taking videos, selfies, petting all the dogs and laughing at all the stories people took turns telling. Marina decided to be the person to start the goodbyes so we planned out our ride to the airport for the morning then caught a ride back to the house. We got up and got ready and Walter showed up with Mate and pastries, it was starting to sink in that we were leaving my biggest big brother. Kim took a pic of me and Ernesto, a video of me, Walter and Silvio singing “Willi The German” and we made our way to the car.
With all of these friendships, exchanges, conversations, shared meals, shared joints, shared beers, and shared hugs, I keep coming back to the feeling that the world is both huge and expansive while also being so small and connected. I spent 10+ days in 2 countries where I do not speak the language and I had the time of my life. I feel some things have shifted in my perspectives. I am a processor so articulating that may take some time. I pushed myself to talk to people I did not know or could not easily understand, I opened my heart to become family with people I had never met but could not imagine my life without. Every single person on this trip has profoundly effected the course of my life and that brings me such an immense sense of happiness. I sometimes get sad when I do epic printing things that I wish my father could have experienced, but then I think that he did all the things he did so that I can do all the things I jump at the chance to do. He lived a big life so that my life could be even bigger. Thank you dad for all you implanted in me and for the drive I have to continue to chase big adventures all over the world. It feels good.
I am stateside now, back in Minnesota, I have already shoveled snow. Can life get any better? I am stoked to be home, get back into the printshop and get back to work. Thank you to everyone, especially Amos, for this magical opportunity.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
Day 6 Saturday February 2
We woke up Saturday and took another long walk on the beach. I just love being in that intense sun, especially knowing that it will be months before I feel that heat on my skin again. Gabriel did his best with Google Translate and we did well talking and walking, all the while passing and sharing the Mate. At one point we all 4 just sat down for a long while, it was windy but that sand was soft and warm.
Made our way back to the house and got to meet Gabriel’s son Ernesto and his wife Dana and daughter Helena. Ernesto speaks perfect English so it was nice to have a translator again. Gabriel set out to make his wife Sylvia’s grandmothers pizza recipe, which as a mostly Italian, my mouth was watering from the overwhelming smell of garlic. Ernesto was cool as hell. Before getting married and having the cutest kid ever he was in a rock band called “The Blueberries.” He told us lots of stories about touring around Uruguay and Argentina and all of us continued to share and get to know each other a bit.
As five o’clock rolled closer we got our printing workshop together for the 10 or so people that were coming. Amos had printed some lovely backgrounds with the text “2019- We came to print and share Mate,” I had spent the previous day carving some nice Mate plants, and Kim had carved a cool logo looking cut so that we could each have a “station” for each person to hand ink and print on their poster. The last station was back inside the shop to print the black text with Amos that said “El Mate es un amigo,” followed by printing Caja Baja’s logo on the bottom of the poster with a C& P Press. Most of the students spoke English and we had so much to talk about it was easy, we enjoyed each other’s work and there was so much admiration for one another. You could tell that all the students revered Gabriel and were mesmerized by Amos. We got a nice group photo, drank more cervesa and again, I was spent.
Day 7 Sunday February 3
Gabriel came to pick us up about 9:30 am to head to the capital city of Montevideo. Once there we met up with Jose, a young designer and a previous student of Gabriel’s, to walk around the big open market. Jose is cool: easy to talk to and very bright, like Ernesto, it was so nice to have a translator at our side. Gabriel and Jose helped Kim and I pick out our Mate cup and bombilla (straw) and we were STOKED. It was great people watching for sure and there were many old treasures to behold like at typical flea markets, rotary phones, old VHS tapes, tons of dog stuff and so many puppalitos (my made up word for dog). It was funny too because all of the music we encountered was all of our favorite tunes from the 80s like ZZ Top, CCR, Twisted Sister, Eddie Money, it was awesome.
We then had a cool opportunity to meet up with a friend of a friend for lunch at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant. My pal Gota from Sweden sent a message that her friend was living in Montevideo so we got in touch and made it happen. If there is one thing that these Uruguayans love is MEAT. Cool for me not so cool for my 2 vegetarian travel companions. Did I mention that I tried blood sausage? First of all, I thought it was just bloody meat. When I said to Ernesto that I thought the consistency was similar to a brownie and he laughed, I was sadly informed that blood sausage is simply that, blood, pork blood to be exact. Huh. It did taste good so there’s that. Everyone was so gracious to provide an “alternative” but it was a nice change, again, for us, I do not think that Gabriel or Jose were too impressed :) Anyways, Ana Valdes is a fiction writer who grew up in Uruguay then fled to Sweden where she spent most of her adult life. Turns out she was pals with Noam Chomsky and has led an incredibly fascinating life. We got to chat with her for a while and were off again, this time to check out the “old City” of Montevideo.
After a lot of walking and checking out the sea, a carnival museum, and having some epic gelato, we made our way to Cafe Dore, where Gabriel had organized a panel talk featuring Amos and his 2 trusty printer companions. There were about 20 or so people of all ages anxiously awaiting the start! It was quite informal but the three of us sat up front of the coffee shop as Jose translated (hopefully what we said :0 we may never know). We talked about how we came to be printers, why we travelled here to print, and what our process is. It is not only an honor to be best pals with a guy like Amos, it is also inspiring to listen to him talk about his gift of connecting people and spreading joy. The audience fell in love with him (as most people do) as he lamented about how he wants to make the world a better place by being a generous teacher and printer. I think everyone agreed he is doing just that.
I got to share my work as well and talk about the reduction prints as well as make some sweet trades with other printers that had been following my work on the Instagram, what a thrill! The crowd was warm and kind, so eager to talk to each of us and ask about when we will return. Our Airbnb hosts Bernt & Negrita came to see the talk! They were the sweetest couple ever and invited us back anytime!!! I followed a handful of people, traded prints, joined some Facebook groups and gave many besos (kisses). There I was again, totally exhausted. We finally made out way back to the cars- said our goodbyes to Jose, such an integral part of our INCREDIBLE day. We headed back to Gabriel’s place and as if he had not done enough for us, we stopped to get some MATE so that we could be all ready to go on our own when we left. I am so happy to have made these connections, this man reminds me so much of my own father: a creative giant, a community leader, and a gentle soul with a big heart. Gracias mi Amigo.
Day 8 Monday February 4 TRAVEL DAY
5am wake up • 6am Drive to Bus Station • 7am Bus ride to Colonia
9-11 Ferry back to Argentina. •. Taxi to AEP Airport. • 5pm Flight to Bahia Blanco
HEY WALTER IO! HERE WE COME!